!"#$%&'() !)+ !"#$%$,$-'.() /&,0&#(, ()+ 1&2.%(, 34#.

0(54
Cailos B 0itiz Aiiza

The histoiical context wheie the piocesses who allows the appeaiance of the
musical expiessions uiscusseu in this woik have place, goes fiom the beginning
of Slaveiy in the Ameiican continent, when thousanus of people of uiveise
oiigins wheie biought foi exploitation puiposes, most of them weie useu as a
woik foice anu otheis to uo uomestic labois.

Neveitheless, since his foiceu aiiival to the continent, the Afiicans tiieu to
pieseive the elements that uiffeientiate anu iuentifieu them cultuially:
iuiosynciasy, Cosmo-vision, music, customs, etc. Even among the slaves that
weie mixeu togethei between uiffeient Afiican nations the paiticulai tiauitions
of each nation was pieseiveu.

Also its goou to make cleai that with the pass of time many of these paiticulai
expiessions weie lost because the Afiican slaves weie mixeu on puipose by theii
captois in such a way, that in the gioups confoimeu no one woulu speak the
same language. Also they lookeu to ieunite in the same gioup people fiom iival
Afiican nations. This situation leu to the eventual lost oi ieplacement of many
cultuial elements, but also the ieplacement oi auaptation of many otheis.

Feinanuo 0itiz
1
, an eminent Cuban intellectual cieates anu use the teim
!"#$%&'()"(#$'*+%, ."#$%&'()"(#$"*/%01 to classify the stuuy of the contact between
uiffeient cultuies, anu the posteiioi auoption of cultuial elements that happens
in the inteiaction of alien gioups.

This is ciucial to unueistanu why some places in Latin Ameiica wheie
consiueieu as a seconu home to the cultuies of Afiican oiigin that coulu iemain
unuei uiffeient "uisguises". This was a necessaiy stiategy to auopt as a pait of
the piocesses of auaptation to a new enviionment anu the shock that piouuceu
an encountei with uiffeient cultuies, anu one such as uissimilai as the Euiopean.

The cieation of "cabiluos ue nacion
2
" in Cuba, alloweu that elements of uiveise
oiigin such as uances, music, musical instiuments of Afiican oiigin, magical-
ieligious beliefs anu iites, weie kept alive thiough many geneiations. Its in 1SS6
when the cieation of the fiist "cabiluo" happeneu in Cuba. Aftei that, the
instiuments, ihythms, melouies anu uances that weie cultivateu in these places
woulu influence the uevelopment of Cuban music as its known touay. In fact,
many of the instiuments that aie now consiueieu as a woilu immateiial heiitage

1
Ethnologist, anthiopologist, juiist, aicheologist anu jouinalist. Be stuuieu the
hitoiic anu cultuial afiocuban ioots. Ciiminologist, musicologist, Folk cultuie
scholai, economist, hitoiian anu geogiaphei. Be iealizeu notable contiibutions
ielateu to the souice anu oiigin of cuban cultuie. Be is consiueieu the thiiu
"uiscoveiei" of Cuba.
2
0iganizations of slaves gioups uepenuing on theii oiiginal ethnicity, they
woikeu as social clubs wheie they suppoiteu each othei anu kept theii
iuiosynciacy, iites, customs anu magical-ieligious beliefs safe.
anu seen in conceit halls anu theaties aiounu the woilu, have theii oiigin in
instiuments of moie piimitive constiuction, pieseiveu in the "cabiluos ue
nacion". This is the case of the 2/%3+1 useu by the 42$3($&
5
1 who lately uevelopeu
into the bongo, instiument veiy well known anu useu in these uays.

In the "Cabiluos ue nacion" is wheie can be founu the essence of the Afiican
heiitage anu also of the Cuban folkloiic music who will uevelop in posteiioi
peiious anu wheie is possible to see the tianscultuiation piocesses moie heavily
influenceu by the Euiopean cultuie. Nowauays the "Cabiluos" still exists anu
some of these piactices anu customs suivive.

Among some Colombian authois, Nina Fiieumann is of paiticulai note because of
hei laige expeiience in the stuuy of Afio Colombian communities of the
Colombian pacific zone. These authois affiim that the communities that now
inhabit the South Pacific littoial weie ancient communities of iunaway slaves.
They seaicheu foi jungle anu uifficult access zones in oiuei to escape fiom the
haiu mining woiks of which they weie subuueu. Theie they liveu a piocess that
consisteu of the auaptation of theii ancient cultuial expiessions into a new
enviionment, full of oppoitunities to this puipose. In this way the communities
iecieateu with the mateiials available in the jungle, swamp anu mangiove theii
ancient music anu musical instiuments.

In Colombia, in a uiffeient way fiom Cuba, the tianscultuiation piocess was
much moie stiongei, giving iesult to the lost oi "hispanisation" of a gieat pait of
the ancient sacio-magical beliefs. Also many of the oiiginal chaiacteiistics of
music, iites, customs anu ways of thinking weie lost.

Neveitheless, in places like the South Colombian pacific, one can still obseive
elements of cleai Afiican oiigin anuoi influence in the music, cosmo-vision anu
iites. Also the people themselves aie much less ethnically mixeu than in othei
places of Afiican confluence in Colombia.


S
People of Bantu oiigin oiganizeu in "juegos" (games) oi seciet "potencias"
(potencys) with theii own sacio-magical beliefs.